Ladder stabilizers



July 22, 1969 B. s. sAlN LADDER STABILIZERS Filed June 4, 1968 INVENTOR.

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A M/m ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,456,757 LADDER STABILIZERS Bernard S. Sain, 6A Creston Ave., Union, NJ. 07083 Filed June 4, 1968, Ser. No. 734,359 Int. Cl. F16b 15/00 U.S. Cl. 182-111 6 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A stabilizer boot for a ladder wherein the ladder legs are securely deposited in an adjustable sleeve or channel, the sleeve lbeing swivelly mounted on, and being capable of being locked to a boot in one of a number of varying angles, the boot having a base formed with a horizontal ange which is provided with ground gripping means including holes through which anchoring pins may be driven, the sleeve being adapted to receive a ladder leg and being provided with bolts which penetrate holes in the ladder leg to secure it firmly to the sleeve.

This invention relates to ladder stabilizers in the form of a pair of boots which enable a ladder to Ibe firmly implanted on or anchored to the ground adjacent a building or the like.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a device for positively iixing the ladder against slippage which might endanger the user. I accomplish this lby providing a firm, anchored boot having a base, and within which a ladder leg receiving sleeve is not only swivelly mounted, but which can be simply and conveniently locked in any desired position or angle. Accordingly, a user is even more secure than if an assistant were to hold the ladder against accidental displacement.

My invention, including further advantages than those above set forth, will be further understood from the following `description and drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a ladder as deposited or installed in a pair of stabilizer boots of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged, elevational view of the boot with a ladder leg installed therein;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view as taken along the line 3 3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view as taken along the line 4 4 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view, exploded, of the two brackets comprising the adjustable ladder leg receiving sleeve.

The ladder is conventional, having the legs 11 and 12. The boot 13 may lbe of metal and includes a substantially rectangular sleeve or channel 14. Sleeve 14 is three-sided and comprises two L-shaped angle brackets 14m and 14b which are mutually slidable to adjust the width of the sleeve to enable it to accommodate ladder legs of differing sizes or configurations. Brackets 14a and 14b have substantially horizontal slots 15 forming upper and lower communicating pairs of slots, each pair respectively penetrated 'by bolts and nuts 16 whereby the brackets may be mutually extended or collapsed and then tightened by the bolts and nuts 16.

Each of the ladder legs 111 and 12 have their bottom ends drilled to .provide upper and lower holes to accommodate the bolts and nuts 16. Accordingly, iirm connection of the ladder legs is effected by depositing the legs into the sleeves 14, slidably adjusting the sleeve brackets to embrace the legs, and then inserting and tightening the bolts and nuts 16 through the respective slots 15 and through the drilled holes of the leg bottom ends.

A planar base 20, having an angle wall 21, pivotally supports the ladder legs by means of a pivot bolt 22 which 3,456,757 Patented July 22, 1969 engages the sleeve 14. Specifically, sleeve angle bracket 14a is formed with a lower tongue 23, having a hole 24 which is penetrated lby pivotal rivet 22 as illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 4. Further, angle bracket 14a is formed with an offset ear 25 having a hole 26 which, by means of wing nut and bolt 27, can fix or lock the sleeve brackets in a selected angular disposition on wall 21 as will be hereinafter described.

Angle wall 21 has a series of arcuately arranged holes 30, three such holes being shown although these may obviously be varied, for selective engagement by nut 27 to x the ladder leg receiving sleeve 14 in a desired position according to how the user wants to position it against a Wall or the like.

Planar 'base 20 is lined on its underside with rib'bed or corrugated friction layer 32 of rubber or other soft material and secured to the base 20 by adhesive or the like. Base 20 also has end holes 33 designed to receive anchoring pins 34. Pins 34 will ordinarily be employed when the ground is soft Whereas friction layer 32 will ordinarily be relied upon when the door or ground is of concrete or otherwise practically impenetrable.

The operation of my system will be evident from the foregoing. Briefly, the ladder 10 may be leaned against a wall, the legs 11 and 12 thereof being deposited in the sleeves 14 which are suitably collapsed and tightened by 'bolts 16 to snugly embrace the legs. Of course, a boot will be used for each leg. The extreme lower edge of the ladder legs will rest upon the base 20, the offset ear 25 being so disposed as to offer no hindrance to the complete penetration of sleeve 14 by the ladder leg.

Sleeve 14 will have been rotated on pivot 22 to a desired angle, and ear 25 will be iixed by wing nut and bolt 27. If the supporting ground is moist earth, anchoring pins 34 may 'be driven into the ground so as to nail the base 20 thereto.

The angle brackets 14a and 14b will form a sleeve 14 of a depth which is complementary to the width of the ladder legs 11 and 12, although this is not essential. However, I also provide optional separable backing plate 35 which olers a somewhat sturdier enclosure for the ladder legs.

The entire ladder stabilizer as described herein may be fabricated of metal or equivalent material. It will be observed that wall 21 is formed with an arcuate slot 36. This has no function other than to provide clearance for the head 37 of the particularly adjacent bolt 16 which has an arcuate path of travel adjacent the inner surface of wall 21.

I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, but it is obvious that numerous changes and omissions may be made without departing from its spirit. For example, the two boots 13 may be interconnected as by a connecting rod between them.

What is claimed is:

1. A ladder leg stabilizer comprising a base, a wall on said base, a leg receiving sleeve pivotally connected to said wall, an arcuately arranged series of holes formed on said Wall, a lock member on said sleeve, and means selectively securing said lock member to a selected one of said series of holes so as to fix said sleeve at a particular angle relative to said base.

2. A ladder leg stabilizer according to claim 1 and wherein said sleeve is substantially rectangularly shaped to receive a ladder leg, saidlock member comprising an offset ear formed on said sleeve, a downwardly depending tongue on said sleeve, and a pivot member on said tongue and pivotally connecting said sleeve to said wall.

3. A ladder leg stabilizer according to claim 1 and wherein said sleeve is substantially rectangular, said sleeve comprising a pair of mutually slidable brackets for adjusting the size thereof, bolt means for locking said brackets together in a selectively adjusting relationship, said ibase being planar and said Wall being perpendicularly formed thereon, and friction ground gripping means on the underside of said planar base.

4. A ladder leg stabilizer according to claim 3 and wherein said lock member comprises an offset ear formed on one of said brackets, a downwardly depending tongue formed on said one bracket, and a pivot rivet ou said tongue and pivotally connecting said one bracket to said Wall.

5. A ladder leg stabilizer according to claim 4 and wherein said base is formed with spaced holes, and anchoring pins for penetrating said holes to anchor the stabilizer over supporting ground.

6. A ladder leg stabilizer according to claim 4 and wherein both of said brackets have upper and lower horizontal slots, the upper and lower horizontal slots respectively communicating with each other, said bolt means extending through said horizontal slots and being elongated whereby said lbolt means may penetrate cornplementary holes formed in a ladder leg to further secure the ladder leg within said sleeve.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 412,199 10/ 1889 Mcllhenny 182-1109 1,570,576 1/1926 Rivitz 182-111 2,371,460 3/1945 Needham 182-108 2,3 09,484 l/l943 Van Meter 182--109 2,691,479 10/1954 Sharp 182-109 3,299,590 1/ 1967 Carter 182--97 3,150,742 9/1964 1Carter 182--93 REINALDO P. MACHADO, Primary Examiner 

